What are Math Stations?
Math stations (or Math centres) are activities that students complete in small groups for a portion of class time before circulating to other activities. Math centres provide the students a chance to apply the skills that they have learned in previous lessons. These are great for review classes and for engaging students in math in ways that they often do not realize they are doing math. Through participating in math centres the students are able to observe different strategies for solving problems and try out new methods in a risk-free setting.
Math stations engage the students in their work but they also allow the teacher to work with small groups to ensure that all the students are understanding the class content. These activities are great opportunities for differentiation, grouping the students based on skill level gives the teacher a chance to differentiate the work and spend time individually with the groups who need extra support. Grouping students with varied skill levels also encourages the higher students to support the others and provides them with a challenge of explaining what they have learned in a way that the others understand. This also gives the lower students the help that they may need without always needing one-on-one work with the teacher.
Math stations differentiate learning through product, process and content - allowing all learners to be supported and achieve the desired outcomes.
Math stations engage the students in their work but they also allow the teacher to work with small groups to ensure that all the students are understanding the class content. These activities are great opportunities for differentiation, grouping the students based on skill level gives the teacher a chance to differentiate the work and spend time individually with the groups who need extra support. Grouping students with varied skill levels also encourages the higher students to support the others and provides them with a challenge of explaining what they have learned in a way that the others understand. This also gives the lower students the help that they may need without always needing one-on-one work with the teacher.
Math stations differentiate learning through product, process and content - allowing all learners to be supported and achieve the desired outcomes.
- Product - student choice
- Process - various ways for students to make sense of the content
- Content - variety of ways to learn or review
How to start Math Stations
Math centres can be as simple or as complex as you make them. Laura Candler (n.d.) explains that "the best math stations activities are highly engaging and often involve partners working together."
Having the station activities be similar each time provides the students with a routine and familiarity. This also leaves more time for the students to be engaged in their work rather than the stations being explained and the students trying to figure out what they should be doing.
Below are some important considerations and steps before implementing math stations
There are so many ideas of activities to put in math stations for any unit, these can be games, puzzles, task cards, worksheets or anything else that the students can work on in a short period of time without one-on-one support.
Having the station activities be similar each time provides the students with a routine and familiarity. This also leaves more time for the students to be engaged in their work rather than the stations being explained and the students trying to figure out what they should be doing.
Below are some important considerations and steps before implementing math stations
- How many centres do you feel comfortable with? This may be a result of how many students you want in each group or how much time you have in a class along with how much time the students will spend at each station. In my class I decided that 5 stations was a good number, with 4-5 students in each group and the students would work at each station for 20 minutes.
- What activities will you have in your centres? Think about what activities the students can do on their own, what materials are needed, if the students will need to hand in something from any of the stations. Some teachers will have a stations that they lead and work with the students one-on-one, others will circulate around the classroom and help students as they work on different tasks.
- Prepare the materials. Make sure that all the materials you need for the stations are ready to go before the day.
- Create groups. Decide whether you want the students to be grouped based on ability or mixed-ability. These groups can be the same for multiple station days or they can change frequently.
- Figure out what works for you. This may take some time if you have not done centres before, what works for one teacher may not work for others. Make changes as you go and find a system that works well in your classroom setting. I personally found that setting a noise monitor on the board kept the students quiet but still engaged.
There are so many ideas of activities to put in math stations for any unit, these can be games, puzzles, task cards, worksheets or anything else that the students can work on in a short period of time without one-on-one support.
References
Bricker, E. (August 23, 2019). How to Set Up Math Stations in 4 Easy Steps! Scholastic. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/articles/how-to-set-up-math-stations-in-4-easy-steps-.html
Bricker, E. (August 23, 2019). How to Set Up Math Stations in 4 Easy Steps! [image]. Scholastic. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/articles/how-to-set-up-math-stations-in-4-easy-steps-.html
Candler, L. (unknown). Math Stations Made Easy. Laura Candler's Teaching Resources. https://www.lauracandler.com/math-stations-in-action/
Unknown. (n.d.). 5 Steps to Setting Up Your Math Centers. Create-abilities. https://www.create-abilities.com/blogs/create-abilities-blog/setting-up-your-math-centers
Unknown. (n.d.). The Ultimate Guide To Math Centers. Mr. Elementary Math. https://mrelementarymath.com/math-centers/
Shkraba, A. (n.d.). Girl In White Jacket Sitting on Chair [image]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-people-woman-books-5306477/
Bricker, E. (August 23, 2019). How to Set Up Math Stations in 4 Easy Steps! Scholastic. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/articles/how-to-set-up-math-stations-in-4-easy-steps-.html
Bricker, E. (August 23, 2019). How to Set Up Math Stations in 4 Easy Steps! [image]. Scholastic. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/articles/how-to-set-up-math-stations-in-4-easy-steps-.html
Candler, L. (unknown). Math Stations Made Easy. Laura Candler's Teaching Resources. https://www.lauracandler.com/math-stations-in-action/
Unknown. (n.d.). 5 Steps to Setting Up Your Math Centers. Create-abilities. https://www.create-abilities.com/blogs/create-abilities-blog/setting-up-your-math-centers
Unknown. (n.d.). The Ultimate Guide To Math Centers. Mr. Elementary Math. https://mrelementarymath.com/math-centers/
Shkraba, A. (n.d.). Girl In White Jacket Sitting on Chair [image]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-people-woman-books-5306477/